Changes for supporting newer python/numpy

[avinashvarna]

• Removed dependency on numpy.distutils to allow installation on python >=3.12 (fixes numpy.distutils deprecated #312)
• Added Github workflow to build/install and run tests (using pytest) on Ubuntu w/ python 3.11, 3.12 and 3.13

[curlysasha]

working! thanks

[amrutadotorg]

Installing Aeneas on Python 3.12+ (macOS)

A simple guide for installing aeneas with Python 3.12+ support, including the fixes from PR #317.

Prerequisites

1. Install Homebrew (if not already installed):

   /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

2. Install system dependencies:

   brew install espeak ffmpeg

3. Create a Python virtual environment (recommended):

   python3.12 -m venv ~/aeneas_env
   source ~/aeneas_env/bin/activate

Installation Steps

Step 1: Clone the PR #317 Branch

cd ~/Downloads  # or wherever you want to install
git clone -b py312_support https://github.com/avinashvarna/aeneas.git
cd aeneas

Step 2: Upgrade Python Build Tools

pip install --upgrade pip setuptools packaging numpy

Step 3: Set Environment Variables

export LDFLAGS="-L/opt/homebrew/opt/espeak/lib -L/opt/homebrew/lib"
export CPPFLAGS="-I/opt/homebrew/opt/espeak/include -I/opt/homebrew/include"

Step 4: Disable Festival Extension (Optional)

Festival is rarely needed. To skip it and avoid compilation errors:

# Backup original setup.py
cp setup.py setup.py.bak

# Comment out Festival extension
sed -i.tmp '38,54s/^/#/' setup.py
sed -i.tmp '61s/^/#/' setup.py

Step 5: Install Aeneas

pip install .

Step 6: Verify Installation

# Move out of source directory first!
cd ~
python -m aeneas.diagnostics

You should see:

[INFO] aeneas.cdtw    AVAILABLE
[INFO] aeneas.cmfcc   AVAILABLE
[INFO] aeneas.cew     AVAILABLE
[INFO] All required dependencies are met

Fix Shell Encoding Warning (Optional)

Add to your ~/.zshrc or ~/.bash_profile:

export PYTHONIOENCODING=UTF-8

Then reload:

source ~/.zshrc  # or source ~/.bash_profile

Quick Test

# Create a test directory
mkdir -p ~/aeneas_test && cd ~/aeneas_test

# Run example
python -m aeneas.tools.execute_task --example-cewsubprocess

Common Issues

Issue: "library 'espeak' not found"

Solution: Make sure environment variables are set before installing:

export LDFLAGS="-L/opt/homebrew/opt/espeak/lib -L/opt/homebrew/lib"
export CPPFLAGS="-I/opt/homebrew/opt/espeak/include -I/opt/homebrew/include"
pip install .

Issue: "library 'Festival' not found"

Solution: Disable Festival extension (Step 4 above) - you don't need it.

Issue: C extensions show "NOT AVAILABLE"

Solution: You're probably in the source directory. Move to a different directory:

cd ~
python -m aeneas.diagnostics

Issue: Intel Mac vs Apple Silicon

For Intel Macs, use /usr/local instead of /opt/homebrew:

export LDFLAGS="-L/usr/local/opt/espeak/lib -L/usr/local/lib"
export CPPFLAGS="-I/usr/local/opt/espeak/include -I/usr/local/include"

Usage Example

Create align.py:

from aeneas.executetask import ExecuteTask
from aeneas.task import Task

# Configuration
config = "task_language=eng|is_text_type=plain|os_task_file_format=srt"

# Create task
task = Task(config_string=config)
task.audio_file_path_absolute = "/path/to/audio.mp4"
task.text_file_path_absolute = "/path/to/transcript.txt"
task.sync_map_file_path_absolute = "/path/to/output.srt"

# Execute
ExecuteTask(task).execute()
task.output_sync_map_file()
print("Done!")

Run with:

python align.py

Alternative: Command Line

python -m aeneas.tools.execute_task \
    audio.mp4 \
    transcript.txt \
    "task_language=eng|is_text_type=plain|os_task_file_format=srt" \
    output.srt

Credits

• Original aeneas: readbeyond/aeneas
• Python 3.12+ support: PR #317 by @avinashvarna

Notes

• The original aeneas repository hasn't been updated since 2017
• PR Changes for supporting newer python/numpy #317 is not merged but provides Python 3.12+ compatibility
• Festival TTS is optional - espeak works great for most use cases
• All C extensions (cew, cdtw, cmfcc, cwave) should compile and work